The world was disappointed to hear the news of NASA and SpaceX aborting the Falcon 9 launch Wednesday, but a new star emerged from the sadness that day – SpaceX’s unique spacesuits.
Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley emerged from Kennedy crew quarters donning sleek white suits that appeared to be a mashup of a tuxedo and a superhero costume.
Elon Musk said he had personally worked on the spacesuits for ‘three to four years’ and had the help of costume designer Jose Fernandez with envisioning the prototype.
Fernandez, who has worked on ‘The Avengers’ and ‘X-Men’, revealed that Musk wanted the crew to look better in the suit than without it, ‘like a tux.’
‘Musk kept saying, anyone looks better in a tux, no matter what size or shape they are,’ he said in an interview with Bleep.
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NASA astronauts Robert Behnken (right) and Douglas Hurley (left) emerged from Kennedy crew quarters donning sleek white suits that appeared to be a mashup of a tuxedo and a superhero costume
Behnken and Hurley were strapped in seats aboard the Crew Dragon Wednesday afternoon, completed their last communications checks and listened to the countdown to liftoff.
Unfortunately, the weather was not on their side and at 16 minutes and 54 seconds Launch America was aborted.
However, NASA and SpaceX will have a second opportunity to launch the American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) Saturday, May 30 at 3:22pm ET.
Although the Falcon 9 rocket did not take off, enthusiasm around the unique SpaceX suits did.
The world was disappointed to hear the news of NASA and SpaceX aborting the Falcon 9 launch Wednesday, but a new star emerged from the sadness that day – SpaceX’s unique spacesuits The helmet is custom manufactured using 3D-printing technology
Elon Musk said he had personally worked on the spacesuits for ‘three to four years’ and had the help of costume designer Jose Fernandez (pictured) with envisioning the prototype.
‘I personally spent a lot of time — it took us three, almost four years to design these suits that both look good and work well,’ Musk said during NASA’s live coverage of the launch attempt on Wednesday.
‘You see the spacesuits in the movies — they look good, they don’t work well.’
‘You can make a spacesuit that works, but it doesn’t look good, because fundamentally it’s a pressure suit that has to survive in a vacuum.’
The suits were made in Hawthorne, California, in the same facility where SpaceX keep its rockets.
They are custom-made for each passenger aboard Crew Dragon and designed to be functional, lightweight and to offer protection from potential depressurization.
‘I personally spent a lot of time — it took us three, almost four years to design these suits that both look good and work well,’ Elon Musk said during NASA’s live coverage of the launch attempt on Wednesday
Fernandez, who has worked on ‘The Avengers’ and ‘X-Men’, revealed that Musk wanted the crew to look better in the suit than without it, ‘like a tux.’ ‘Musk kept saying, anyone looks better in a tux, no matter what size or shape they are,’ he said in an interview with Bleep
The suits were made in Hawthorne, California, in the same facility where SpaceX keep its rockets. They are custom-made for each passenger aboard Crew Dragon and designed to be functional, lightweight and to offer protection from potential depressurization
A single connection point on the suit’s thigh attaches life support systems, including air and power connections,’ NASA said in a press release.
‘The helmet is custom manufactured using 3D-printing technology and includes integrated valves, mechanisms for visor retraction and locking, and microphones within the helmet’s structure.’
The white parts of the suit are made out of a type of Teflon, similar to that applied to the outer layers of the Apollo space suits.
There is black trim designed of Nomex, a fire retardant fabric similar to Kevlar, which is what NASA’s orange ‘pumpkin suits’ are fashioned from.
Each astronaut has a communications link through the helmet, which is fitted with a microphone and speakers, and they are able to drop the visor using a single button on the side.
The gloves are specially designed to work with the touch screen control systems, although they can be detached from the rest of the one-piece suit for comfort.
The gloves are specially designed to work with the touch screen control systems, although they can be detached from the rest of the one-piece suit for comfort
They are custom-made for each passenger aboard Crew Dragon and designed to be functional, lightweight and to offer protection from potential depressurization
The weather was not on their side and at 16 minutes and 54 seconds Launch America was aborted. NASA and SpaceX will have a second opportunity to launch the American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) Saturday, May 30 at 3:22pm ET
And each astronauts receives a pair of boots that are separate from the suit, but crafted with black material to look as if they are connected.
Not only are the suits designed for functionality and protection, they were specifically developed to capture the public’s attention around space travel.
Gary Westfahl, the author of ‘The Spacesuit Film: a History, 1918-1969,’ wrote in an email to the New York Times: ‘As long as space travel was being subsidized by governments, there was no need to make the suits attractive, as the astronauts’ safety was the sole concern.’
‘Yet, if space travel is going to become an activity of private companies seeking profits, they have a natural interest in making their astronauts seem attractive.’
And this is where the idea of the tuxedo stems from.
Musk is not the first one to step forward with a unique spacesuit. Richard Branson’s (right) Virgin Galactic unveiled an entire wardrobe for space tourists in 2019 that would make anyone feel like a space-fairing hero
‘When people put this spacesuit on, he [Musk] wants them to look better than they did without it, like a tux. You look heroic in it. It’s an iconic thing be a part of,’ explained Fernandez.
Musk is not the first one to step forward with a unique spacesuit.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic unveiled an entire wardrobe for space tourists in 2019 that would make anyone feel like a space-fairing hero.
The suit comes complete with a blue one-piece jump suit, limited jacket and boots to match.
Virgin Galactic has teamed up with Under Armour to develop the line of space gear, which the firm says was ‘created specifically for private astronauts.’
Under Armour used new fabrics like Tencel Luxe, SpinIt and Nomex for the lining that are specifically designed for temperature control and moisture management, as Future Astronauts may experience a spectrum of temperatures throughout their journey.